Dad Throws His 7-Year-Old Son Off Cliff to Teach Him a Lesson About Facing Fears
The father of five recognized that "most people won't love" his parenting style on cliff jumping, but went on to explain his thought process with a lengthy caption alongside the clip
Gee made clear that he prioritized "safety" and stressed the importance of teaching his kids that they "can do hard things"Everyone has their own parenting style.
As for Garrett Gee, the popular influencer best known as "The Bucket List Family" founder, his parenting style may take some by surprise as illustrated in a recent video shared on Instagram that features him throwing his 7-year-old son off a cliff in an attempt to help him conquer his fears.
"Most people won't love how we teach our kids how to cliff jump," Gee writes in text over the video, which has racked up over 3.5M views since it was posted on Sunday, July 13.
The clip shows Garrett with his son, Calihan, standing on a massive rock formation in Lake Powell and seemingly pep talking him about the jump into the water down below. Ultimately, he picks his little one up and tosses him off the cliff as he makes the plunge.
After he surfaced, Calihan — who screamed on the way down, but popped up with a smile on his face — was joined by his dad, who jumped in beside him and greeted him with a thumbs up and a smile.
The young boy was also met with cheers from onlookers supporting him from afar.
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The father of three paired the video with a lengthy caption that explains his decision to throw his son off the cliff, where he clarified that his post is "NOT parental advice" nor "something [he advises] you try." He also made clear that this tactic isn't one they've done with their other two kids.
"Each kid is quite different so the way we parent, discipline, and teach HOW TO CLIFF JUMP is quite different :) For sure 1st priority is safety. 2nd is learning that YOU CAN DO HARD THINGS. 3rd is HAVE FUN :)," Garrett began in the caption.
"Well speaking of the top priority, safety... We took our youngest Cali to a cliff height that we knew he would be safe. Really the biggest danger would be if he hesitated, didn't jump far out, and fell down the cliff side," he continued.
To be "extra safe," Garrett said he "threw him" because "he wanted to jump but was not feeling confident," adding, "Eventually a baby eagle needs to leave the nest... or be tossed out of the nest ;) and learn HE CAN FLY!"
He concluded, "But warning : teaching your kids to be brave starts to backfire when they become older and begin jumping from heights that you don't even dare!! /// BE SAFE OUT THERE! YOU CAN DO HARD THINGS! HAVE FUN!"
The comment section was filled with mixed thoughts and opinions from the 3M-plus viewers who watched the viral clip. Many also asked questions, to which Garrett replied with further explanation.
"Honest question, no judgement. Did he know he was going to be thrown?" inquired one user.
The content creator replied, "YES. He had the choice to climb down, jump himself, or have me throw him. He chose to be thrown. But regardless it was still scary for him. Scary for me too because I need to make sure he doesn't cling onto me and hit the cliffs and also make sure he hits the water feet first. Kinda tricky but I feel like it's part of the dad job description ;)."
"The scream says it all. He's not ready. I hate this for him," wrote another user.
"He chose to be thrown and they have built that trust all his life ♥️," commented a third.
"Love that you all are confident enough in your parenting to show this!" wrote a fourth, and a fifth commented, "My father did the same to me 😂 I loved it and remember it until now! 🔥."
Cliff jumping is just the latest extreme activity the Gees have introduced to their children and shared on their social media platform since creating The Bucket List Family nearly 10 years ago in August 2015. (Others include surfing with sharks and interacting with an octopus, for example).
The content creators, who describe themselves as "5 family travel journalist," sold everything one decade ago before leaving their home for a journey around the world together. They launched an Instagram and a YouTube channel under the moniker that's amassed millions of followers to date.
The family first made headlines in 2015 after Snapchat bought Garrett's mobile scanning app for $54 million and he and his wife, Jessica, decided to sell everything they owned in Utah to travel the world.
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Garrett and his wide, Jessica (CEO of The Bucket List Family), set out with their three kids — Dorothy Seven, Manilla and Calihan "Cali" Gee — on a family adventure with several goals in mind, eventually visiting 65 different countries within three years.
After living on the road full-time for three years, the Gees settled down in Hawaii in July 2018. They continue to chronicle their adventures on social media, in addition to contributing to National Geographic via writing and photography.
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